


Never Changing Acts

by mrhd



Series: Godfather Effects [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, M/M, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 02:06:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19454122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrhd/pseuds/mrhd
Summary: Five times Minerva catches Remus and Sirius while they're students and one time she catches them while Remus is a Professor.





	Never Changing Acts

**Author's Note:**

> Sexy stuff lightly hinted at, nothing described or shown.

The first time she catches them it’s a complete surprise. It’s just about half an hour into the first class period of the day, and while Minerva had been using her free period to grade some third year papers about animagi, she had also found herself in want of a cup of strong tea, and perhaps a walk, to get a break from the various misspellings. She’s on her way to the kitchens when she hears a noise in one of the side corridors.

Of course, some older students also have a free period, and she’s quite near the Hufflepuff dormitory, so it’s really nothing to be too concerned about, but Minerva finds herself peeking down the corridor anyways. What she sees isn’t a surprise at first. It’s not surprising that two students have snuck away to make out in a lesser used corridor, nor is it surprising that Sirius Black and Remus Lupin are skipping class yet again. What _is_ surprising is that Black and Lupin are apparently skipping class to _snog each other_.

Minerva allows them a few moments more of groping and kissing before she politely clears her throat.

As if he’s been cursed, Remus Lupin jumps back from where he had been pressing Sirius Black into the wall, his eyes snapping to her and growing wide with dawning horror as he starts blushing furiously.

Black, slower to realize what’s going on, reaches for him to pull him back. “Remus, what-” he starts, tugging on Lupin’s robes, and then he follows his eyeline and sees Minerva. She expects a charming smile, and something witty or sweet as he tries to get them both out of trouble, but instead Sirius Black surprises her again by saying, “Don’t tell my parents.”

The effect this has on Lupin is both immediate and dramatic. He steps back towards the other boy, as if to shield him with his own body and abruptly any embarrassment or awkwardness is gone from his expression, replaced by a determined mix of protectiveness and fury. The fury Minerva understands. She vividly remembers receiving a howler from Walburga Black soon after Sirius had been sorted into her house, demanding that her son not be forced to room with “mudbloods” and other such drivel. Minerva had lit it on fire before it could finish and hadn’t responded. She’s given Sirius Black more detentions over the years than she has any other student, but she has never written to his parents. She looks at him now and says, “Mister Black, should I ever correspond with your parents it will not be because I am displeased with you.”

He blinks at her for a second before he understands and shoots her a grateful smile.

“Thank you, Professor,” Remus Lupin says, taking a step away from her, towards the other end of the corridor. “We’ll just be going to class now.” He tugs at the arm of Black’s robes to pull him with him.

“Not so fast, Mister Lupin,” Minerva says. “Ten points from Gryffindor each for skipping class.”

The boys both nod and make their escape, clearly surprised by either their luck or Minerva’s leniency.

Minerva figures that a bit of leniency can’t hurt and besides, she’s in a rather good mood. Poppy owes her six galleons now.

* * *

The second time Minerva finds the two of the huddled in an alcove near her office and soaked to the skin, giggling even as they kiss. Most of the school is dealing with the sudden rainstorm that had occurred in the staircases during passing period but Minerva had had a hunch about who might have been involved.

“You know,” she says, and the two boys jump apart, “you can sneak off with _out_ causing a rainstorm indoors. Students have been doing so for many years.”

“Do you know better ways of sneaking off then?” Black says, presumably before he thinks.

Lupin looks very much like he is trying not to laugh.

“I was a student once too,” Minerva says.

Black’s eyes go wide and Lupin feigns a bout of coughing to hide the laughter he loses control over.

“Twenty-five points and you two will each be mopping a staircase tonight without magic.”

Black groans audibly before Lupin smacks him in the shoulder.

“My office, after classes end,” Minerva says, before she leaves them alone. It will take a few hours for here and Filius to fix the chaos in the hallway after all, and the boys might as well enjoy their alone time.

* * *

The third time it’s early in the morning, so early that it’s almost still late at night. The sun is just barely coming through the windows as Minerva makes her way down to the kitchen for some early morning tea. On her way there, as she’s passing the hospital wing, she hears the door creak open.

Sirius Black steps out, the door open wide enough that she can see Remus Lupin’s hand gripping his sleeve. It looks like Lupin is leaning on Black for support, and Minerva remembers that the previous night had been the full moon.

“I’ll come back and get you before breakfast,” Sirius says.

“Just bring me food after,” Lupin mumbles. “I’m tired.”

“Then go back to bed. You didn’t have to see me to the door you know.”

“’S not that far. Madame Pomfrey always puts me in the bed closest to the door because you barge in so early,” Lupin says.

“No, it’s because you insist on leaving before you can properly walk,” Black returns.

Lupin grumbles something Minerva can’t hear, and Black laughs in response, gently cupping Lupin’s head and bringing it into his shoulder. “I’ll carry you if you need me to,” he promises, dropping a soft kiss on Lupin’s head.

Quietly, Minerva backs away and continues on to the kitchen.

She hadn’t seen a thing.

* * *

  
As soon as Minerva enters the staff room she can tell that a student or two is hiding in the large wardrobe against the wall. The professors are always sure to shut it, but now it’s open just a crack, just a crack perfectly sized for watching out of without making oneself visible.

She has a pretty good idea who might be inside it.

She decides to let it go for the moment though, settling down at the table with a rather large stack of essays to grade. If the bottom third of the stack is blank parchment she’d taken from her bag to make the pile look larger, well, it’s best that the troublemakers in the wardrobe think that they’re going to be stuck for much longer than they will be.

She begins grading the second-year essays, paying meticulous attention to their length, even going far enough to conjure a tape measure to make sure they’re at least two feet long. It takes a great deal of time.

About five essays and a hour later (an hour that had consisted of Minerva taking her time reading essays, and may or may not have included her staring into space and planning future lessons in her head between them) there’s a soft thump from the wardrobe.

She very carefully doesn’t react, even though she can practically feel the tension. Instead she continues to meticulously triple check the length of the last essay before reading it again, just to make sure, of course, that the information contained is all correct.

She sets it aside and picks up the next essay.

She goes to make a correction and gives a rather overdramatic sigh when she finds that her inkwell has run dry. She reaches, ever so slowly into her bag for a fresh one.

From the wardrobe, she hears a _thump_ that sounds an awful lot like someone banging their head on the side of it.

Minerva ignores the sound and goes back to her work.

Another half an hour and two more essays down, she hears a distinct, “Oh, _bugger_ this,” from the wardrobe, before Sirius Black tumbles out of it. His hair and robes are a tangled mess, and he has a dark purple bruise on the underside of his jaw.

“Mr. Black,” Minerva says, raising her eyebrows from behind her glasses.

“Yes, yes, detention, house points, I know,” Black says, shifting his weight almost anxiously. “Can we do all that later? I’ve got to use the loo.”

Minerva gestures for him to go Black darts out of the room as if outrunning a curse.

Minerva waits another thirty seconds before saying, “Mr. Lupin, you may come out too.”

There’s more scuffling sounds from the wardrobe, and Remus Lupin comes out, rather more gracefully than Sirius had.

Minerva raises her other eyebrow at him. He’s just as much of a mess as Black had been, similarly messed up hair and robes, though he is lacking the hickey.

“Hello, Professor,” Lupin says, looking off to the left of Minerva.

“Mr. Lupin,” she says. “That will be fifteen points from Gryffindor and detention for both of you Tuesday night.”

“Yes, Professor,” Lupin says, turning to leave.

Minerva lets him get halfway to the door before adding, “And you may want to heal the mark on Black’s jaw before anyone else remarks on it. Madame Pomfrey knows several good healing spells.”

She just manages to see Lupin blushing before he hurries out of the staff room.

* * *

  
Graduation is always a bit of a chaotic affair. Once the ceremony is over, of course, the students are released to mingle with their guests on the grounds before the ceremonial feast. Minerva is taken aside several times as she makes her way through the crowd, especially by her Gryffindors and their families. She spends a good twenty minutes with Lily Evans and her parents, both muggles, and both wide-eyed at the castle they’re allowed to see for once.

She’s making her way back to the kitchen for a glass of pumpkin juice to refresh herself from the heat. The entrance hall is crowded as well, but she keeps pushing through until she reaches the cool corridors of the dungeons.

“Oh, fuck,” comes from a secluded alcove to her right.

Minerva stops and looks around.

Once again, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin are wrapped up in each other. Both their hats lie haphazardly on the floor, knocked off and forgotten and Lupin is leaning against the wall, his hands wrapped in Black’s hair as Black pulls his robes aside at the neck to trail his mouth across Lupin’s collarbone.

Minerva clears her throat.

Lupin picks his head up and opens his eyes as Black sighs and pulls back.

“Can you still take house points from us at this point?” he asks.

“Technically,” Minerva says. “But I’ve come to get some pumpkin juice and that’s all. Though I would suggest some place a bit more private, should you want to take this farther.”

Lupin blushes but still nods and says, “Thank you, Professor McGonagall.”

Black grins at her. “Not even one house point? For old times’ sake?”

“Sirius,” Lupin says, reproach in his voice as he swats at Black’s head, even as he smiles.

McGonagall finds herself smiling a small smile as well. “Not today, Mr. Black,” she says. “Make sure you two don’t forget your hats.”

* * *

Usually, when Minverva begins to teach her unit on animagi, the students, impressed by her transformation, demand to see it over and over again. Minerva usually refuses, but this year, she happens to know another animagus, one who is usually more than happy to show off. She could, of course, send Sirius Black an owl, but she has a feeling that she’ll be able to find him visiting Professor Lupin.

Indeed, as she approaches Lupin’s office, she can hear voices inside. Minerva is raising her hand to knock, but she stops when she hears what is quite clearly a groan.

She hesitates. She could come back later, after all, but then again, it is quite far from her office to Remus’ and Remus isn’t a teenager anymore. So she knocks.

On the other side of the door she hears muffled swearing, and the thump of a chair, and then low voices before Remus opens the door.

“Professor McGonagall!” he says. “Is there anything I can help you with?” His robes are on backwards, his hair in disarray, and he has a mark on his neck, and it reminds Minerva so much of him as a teenager that she finds herself smiling.

“So Sirius is here then?” she says.

“Er…yes, he is actually,” Remus says, while Sirius’ head pops up over his shoulder.

“Hello, Professor,” he says as Remus steps slightly to the side.

“I was hoping you could help me with my animagus demonstration for the third years,” Minerva says. “They always wish to see the transformations multiple times, but it is quite difficult to continue the lesson as a cat, you know.”

Sirius grins at her. “Of course,” he says.

“Wonderful. I’ll meet you at my class ten minutes before nine on Monday then,” Minerva says. “We’ll discuss more then. For now I’ll let you get back to what you were doing,” she adds with a grins before walking away.

Behind her she hears Remus say “Oh my God” very clearly, while Sirius laughs and says, “Well, we might as well then” before the door closes.


End file.
